Warmth
by Midnight Muser
Summary: {Genderbend Aruni: Armin wearing one of Annie's hoodies, and the 104 training squad laughing at Annie's blush.} - Request by Anonymous


**AN: I haven't written any genderbent SnK for a long time, so I decided to start off with this prompt lazing around in my drafts on Tumblr. **

**As you can see, I added a few more characters into the mix; I'm sorry if I messed them up a bit. It's been a while. A few names are subject to change soon. If you have any suggestions, hit me up. **

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><p>It was that time of year again when the world was dying, and the leaves on the trees took their last breaths before falling to the ground with a final crunch beneath the boots of strange beings. The air was crisp and cool; it flowed through hair, and shook the bones of the young soldiers as they made their way to the horses awaiting them in the early morning chill. Today was a day of discovery—not unlike any other day for them—and venturing further beyond the walls than they had in the past. If they were all completely honest with themselves, the breeze wasn't the <em>only<em> thing making them shiver as their minds wandered to places and dangers unseen and unknown.

Further back in the line of nervously chattering trainees, Alvar silently walked with her hands wrapped around herself for warmth. Out of _all_ the days for Eren to forget her jacket in the mess hall, today just had to that day; she wished she had never agreed to lend her jacket to the careless girl, seeing as she was chilled down to her very core from the wind. She was a petite girl! Her body wasn't built to withstand this type of weather without some form of protection. Attempting to keep her teeth from chattering, she kept her head low and her hopes high; maybe the adrenaline rush she was sure to get after starting this expedition would warm her up! She was almost to her horse—she could see him close ahead—so it would only be a matter of time before that greatly anticipated rush would (hopefully) come.

Keeping her thoughts on _anything_ but her current state, Alvar, of course, didn't notice where she was walking, and ended up tripping over a protruding tree root. Letting out a startled cry, she braced herself for the sharp impact of the ground; it was a pleasant surprise when she instead felt herself being caught by strong, careful arms—arms that could only belong to one person—arms she knew all too well.

"Esmond!" Not having to see the boy to know that it was his arms she was currently in, she expressed her gratitude. "Thank you for catching me."

Behind her, Esmond silently chuckled before carefully setting back on her feet. "If you don't watch where you're walking, you're going to end up getting yourself killed before the expedition even begins," he said jokingly, although admittedly, he was worried for her. Why was she acting so spacey today? Normally she was very observant; in fact, she was probably the most observant one here. So what was suddenly up with her?

It didn't take long for him to notice that she was shaking and without a jacket. _That's probably doing it,_ he thought. "You're cold," he said, raising an eyebrow; and it _was _pretty cold today, so it wasn't a surprise that she was like this right now. What _was_ a surprise to him, though, was the fact that she didn't have her jacket on her. As well as observance, preparation was also a strong attribute of Alvar's, and Esmond was beginning to wonder if she was sick or something, seeing as she was being careless left and right today.

"Where's your jacket?" he asked, deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt; perhaps she had just lent it to someone—which was equally as careless of a gesture in this survival-of-the-fittest world they lived in.

"I lent it to Eren," Alvar replied quickly, trying not to talk too much. Her teeth were chattering so much now that she couldn't muster out any more than a few words at a time.

Sighing in understanding, Esmond nodded and pulled off his jacket—completely disregarding his own words about careless gestures—revealing his hoodie. Taking _that_ off, he quickly put the jacket back on before he got too cold, and then handed the hoodie to Alvar. "Here," he said, pushing the article of clothing at her. "Wear this. It'll keep you warm."

Looking at the hoodie in her hands, Alvar managed to stutter out, "A-are you sure about this?" She didn't want him to catch cold on her account, and she voiced that thought to him. "I don't want you to get sick because of me… A-and you're a much stronger soldier than I am. I'm sure that me getting sick would be much less of a loss than you getting sick." Rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly and trying to contain her shivers, Alvar tried to give Esmond back his hoodie.

Of course, Esmond was going to have none of that nonsense.

"Don't be stupid," he said with a roll of his eyes as he snatched the hoodie out of her hands. Without a warning, he pulled her close to him and spun her around so her back was facing him. Taking her arms, he lifted them over her head. single-handedly, he pulled the hoodie over her head, then stepped back to let her do the rest of the work.

It took her a few seconds to realize what had just happened, but soon, Alvar was pulling the material over the rest of her body, and she was instantly engulfed in pleasant warmth. Esmond's scent invaded her senses; it was a nice smell—it reminded her of home and happier times. The feel of it on her was comfortable, although it was loose fitting; Esmond was a bit shorter than Alvar, but he was_ far_ more muscular than she, and it showed from the way the hoodie fit her.

"Are you _sure_ this is alright?" she asked once more, looking up at her friend. She didn't want him to regret his decision later, because that would mean he'd be cross with her; that was something she_ definitely_ didn't want. The sight she was presented with, though, was one that she did not expect; he didn't look upset, or disappointed. Instead, he looked very..._flustered_?

Face a light hue of red, Esmond stood in front of Alvar with his mouth slightly open and his eyes boring into—as Alvar saw it—her very soul. At first she wondered if he was beginning to get too cold without his extra layer on, and he wanted to ask for his hoodie back; looking at the way he was gazing at her, though, she doubted that was the case. Maybe, just maybe, it was something else. The thought of that something else made Alvar's heart skip a beat, but she did well to conceal her emotions and wishful thinking.

Waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention, Alvar was eventually able to snap Esmond out of his daze. Smiling at him, she couldn't help but to giggle and raise her eyebrow at him in curiosity; he looked cute with a blush on his face—more like a regular teenage boy, and less like the battle hardened soldier he was.

"Did you say something?" he asked, still not fully in the here and now. She didn't answer him right away, though, because she was still laughing over his dorky expression. He waited patiently for her to be done; something he rarely did for_ anyone_. He didn't believe in waiting; since time waited for no one, why should _he_? But recently, he found that Alvar seemed to be an exception to many of his rules and beliefs.

"I was asking if you were sure that this is alright," she repeated after she was done with her small fit of laughter.

As he scrutinized the girl in front of him, it took all of Esmond's will-power to keep from blushing again; the way his hoodie looked on Alvar was simply _stunning_ in all truth and honesty. Sure, it was a bit big on her, but he guessed that's what made it all the more attractive—at least to him. He'd always wondered what his clothing would look like on her before then, and now that he was actually seeing it, he _knew_ he could get used to it.

"I-it's fine, I guess," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from her, trying to look annoyed with her question. "You're acting like I just saved you from certain death or something. It's no big deal, alright?" Although he wanted to sound more aggressive when he said that, his voice betrayed him by cracking mid-sentence. Alvar had to try extra hard to not show any form of amusement at that; the _obvious_ strain on her part to keep self-control only made Esmond scowl, and he could feel himself giving up on his charade of being completely cool about this whole ordeal.

He was well aware by now that the way he was reacting to Alvar was making it obvious that he was flustered, but at this point, he didn't even care. What was the shame in being attracted to a pretty girl wearing his clothing? He was sure the other guys had experienced_ something_ like this before; so why was he feeling so stupid all of a sudden?

Maybe it was because this was _Alvar_, and he never in a million years expected to fall so hard for someone like her; yet, here he was—already in too deep. He supposed that's what he got for letting his guard down these past three years.

He was just beginning to calm himself down again—was _just_ starting to remind himself that he was _only human _(for the most part), and that these things happened all the time—when heard someone calling his name. Turning around to find the source of the voice, he was surprised (but nottoo surprised) to find Breck, Adonis, and some of the others smiling slyly at him and Alvar. Sighing in agitation, Esmond did his best to put on a poker face.

"What," he stated, managing to keep the shakiness he felt out of his voice; he was still feeling a_ little bit_ flustered, and although he usually tried to keep a cool air about himself, he always found these kinds of feelings hard to deal with—especially since they didn't come across that often. Not only that, but the looks his friends were giving him were making him nervous. _Why do they have such shit-eating grins on their faces?_

"Since when do you let other people borrow your clothes?" a confused Brunhild asked, the beginnings of a smirk on her face. Out of all the years she'd known Esmond, he had never been too big on sharing anything of his; especially his clothing. This was _certainly_ a new development, and she couldn't help but to feel a bit excited. Maybe her old friend was finally starting to come out of his hard outer shell.

Ebony on the other hand, didn't feel the same excitement that Brunhild felt. She'd known Esmond for just as long as the other had, yet he'd never done anything like that for_ her_! She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she couldn't help but to feel just a bit jealous—especially considering she had a _small_ crush on him; at least, that's what she told herself, anyway. It was pretty obvious to everyone else that it was more than just a crush. "You've never let me borrow any of your clothes," she mumbled, somewhat of a hurt expression on her face. "And we're best friends, too."

"Plus, you're blushing," Breck commented, walking up to Esmond and poking his cheek jokingly. "You got a crush or somethin', Leonhardt?" There was a chorus of quiet laughter after that was said, and Esmond couldn't help but to blush harder than he already supposedly was. Looking over at Alvar to see her reaction to all of this, he was surprised to find her staring expectantly at him. That only made him panic.

Smacking Breck's hand away from his face, Esmond snarled at him. "I am _not_ blushing, and I_ do not_ have a crush on anyone," he lied. He could tell that the others gathered around him saw straight through his charade as well, considering the looks on their faces were mostly ones of amusement. "Seriously," he added on, as if that would do him any good.

"Come on you guys, don't be silly," Alvar stepped in, holding her hands up in defense. The only thing that did, though, was coax more comments from the crowd. "I-I'm sure it's just the cold weather that has his face red like that. Right, Esmond?" She turned back to him and awaited a reply, trying to hide the small glimmer of hopefulness she felt. One part of her wanted him to agree with her—if only to get this crowd to disperse. Another part of her, though, wanted him to disagree—to say that no, it wasn't the cold; his behavior was actually caused by _exactly_ what they all thought.

She knew he'd never say those things outside of her inner fantasies, so she didn't hold much hope. When he didn't answer straight away, though, she began to wonder if he could see right through her innocent front. _Shit!_ she thought, tearing herself away from her own little world to face reality._ Was I too obvious with my feelings?_ She could feel her heart sink more and more as the seconds passed, and as much as she wanted to tear her eyes away from Esmond's piercing stare, she couldn't bring herself to do so; in fact, she could barely find the strength to breathe. She was completely captivated by the fear and curiosity she felt.

"You know what; fuck it," Esmond said out of the blue with a smirk. Alvar quirked her eyebrow up at him, but he only smirked harder. "I'll let you assholes decide for yourself what my true feelings are. I'm sure they're not too hard to figure out, but I'm not saying _shit_ out loud," he paused after saying that—only to offer a small wink at Alvar. "At least, not in front of you guys."

The amount of time it took for everyone to shut up was almost alarming; as soon as Esmond was done with his little speech, the entire group grew dead silent. The only sound that could be heard besides the neighing of the horses, the soft howling of the wind, and their breathing, was the startled little gasp that found its way out of Alvar's mouth.

"W-we were just kidding with you, you know," Breck got the nerve to say after a few moments of awkward silence. "I didn't think you were actually gonna confess...in your own _special_ way." The beginnings of his normal smirk were forming on his face, and he looked around at the rest of the group. "Looks like some of you losers owe me money!"

There was a large amount of curses mumbled under breaths, or exclaimed loudly—the loudest, of course, being Eren—as well as triumphant laughs shared within the group within the next couple minutes, and Alvar and Esmond couldn't help but to laugh along a bit. Now that this was all, somewhat, taken care of, it was easier to breathe. There was a split second of eye contact between the two in which Esmond began to say something to her, but they were abruptly interrupted by a loud, "_Ahem_."

For the second time in a mere matter of minutes, a hush fell across the group, and the all turned around to the source of the agitated voice. Sitting upon her horse was none other than Captain Levia, an impatient scowl plastered on her face. "I don't remember giving any orders about lazing around," she said, a stern look in her eyes. "Do any of _you_ brats remember me saying anything like that?"

The tone of the woman's voice left no room for any argument or commentary, and the group nodded in almost perfect unison. "I didn't think so." She gave them all one final glare before her gaze softened a bit—but only a bit. "The sooner we head out, the sooner we can get back here. I'm sure none of you want to spend more time than necessary in this frigid weather." And then, without wasting any more words or time, Levia was off again, making her way to the front of the brigade.

"Well, you heard the woman," Aiada spoke up once the older woman was out of eyesight, "Let's move out." As soon as she made her way towards her own horse, the rest followed. Mounting their horses, they one-by-one joined up with the rest of the scouts. Alvar and Esmond ended up getting separated in the chaos of the moment, but they were still within eyesight of each other, and every so often they'd exchange glances.

_I wonder if he was being serious back then... _One thought.

_I wonder if she already knew._ The other wondered.

_I hope I get to find out soon_. They both smiled.

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><p><strong>Thank you for taking the time to read this!<strong>

**Comments, follows, favorites, and all that good stuff is****_ very_**** much appreciated! **


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